Before Departure
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: The night before the party leaves Dali, Zidane makes a promise to the Princess.  Written in 2008.


Above the Mist were most of Gaia's towns, among them was a little village called Dali. It was a small farming village, but it also had a few stores and an Inn. The adults left during the day to tend to the farm while the children did their part and looked after their homes.

The day went pretty much like any other, business as usual as most would say. Now that it was night, everyone was asleep comfortably in their beds. In the Inn, it was the same. Of the four people staying in the there, only three were in their beds. Vivi the black mage, Steiner the knight, and Dagger a.k.a. Garnet. Where was the other one?

The fourth, Zidane, was outside the village. He was sitting on a rock, and was looking up at the stars. He couldn't sleep, not because he wasn't tired, but because of what had happened during the day. They had arrived in the village after coming through the Ice Cavern, and everything seemed normal. The next day, Zidane awoke to find everyone gone. Eventually, he found the Princess, and decided that Steiner (whom he gave the nickname 'Rusty') was someone he didn't need to worry about, and after awhile they went to look for Vivi.

That's when things got strange.

Zidane and Dagger discovered an underground factory that was producing black mages. Vivi was down in the factory. When he found out, he was distraught, and went to bed without saying a word.  
Then, Steiner had gotten hold of a cargo ship that he said was going to Lindblum, but Zidane knew better. Because, when he was with Dagger in the underground factory, he saw alot of barrels with the Alexandrian Royal logo on them. And a number of those same barrels were strapped to the cargo ship. It didn't take an airship scientist to figure out where it was really going. And since Dagger was adamant about not returning to Alexandria, Zidane was hellbent on getting her to Lindblum. He had sworn to her that he would, afterall.

He also had a plan, too...in case ol' Rust-bucket tried to pull anything.

The thief had been out in the night for about an hour now, and he was just about to head back. As he turned, he saw Dagger standing a few feet from him. Zidane didn't even know she was there. "What are you doing up so late?" he asked the Princess.

"I couldn't sleep. I saw you were gone, so I went to find you..." she said calmly.

"If you're having trouble sleeping, I know something that can help," Zidane stood up, pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Dagger. It was a small plant.

Dagger took the plant from Zidane's hand, with a perplexed look on her face. "What's this?"

"Sleeping weed. It helps with insomnia," he explained.

Dagger, out of curiousity, took a whif of the plant. It smelled awful, like oglop oil, and she just had to ask: "Does it really work?"

"Yep, especially when you cuddle with someone," Zidane said with a smile.

Dagger turned away from him, "Sorry, I'm not that kind of girl."

Zidane was disappointed in himself. "Can't blame me for trying."

"I suppose I can't. Anyway, it works instantly, right?" Dagger said.

"You take that, and you'll be sleeping like a baby in no time," Zidane said, smiling again.

She didn't hear him for she was looking at the cargo ship. She then said, with a little worry, "Zidane...about the cargo ship...is it really going to Lindblum?"

"No, it will most likely take us straight to Alexandria Castle," Zidane said, unflinching.

The Princess turned to face him again, "but we're leaving in the morning!"

Zidane got closer to her, "I know, but I have a plan. Trust me."

She didn't know how he was going to pull it off, but she had gotten this far with Zidane and the others' help. She couldn't doubt him now, after all they had been through. "Zidane..."

Getting closer to the Princess, Zidane got on one knee, "Dagger...Princess, I will get you to Lindblum. No matter what. I swear it."

Upon see this, Dagger blushed, because Zidane had done this once before, only this time she had not expected it. It was in the Buena Vista in Alexandria when they first met, where he had sworn to do his best to kidnap her. He had risked his life numerous times to make sure she would get to Lindblum. He had rescued her in Evil Forest, and one of his friends had been caught when that place turned to stone. He did it again when he managed to defeat a creature called a Black Waltz in the Ice Cavern. Then, he had helped Vivi and Steiner protect her from Black Waltz 2 outside Dali.

"Thank you, Zidane," Dagger said with a bow. Now, she held nothing but faith in him now.

Zidane stood up, and gave a smile.

That's when he heard a certain clanging noise. He immediately recognized it, and put a hand to his forehead out of disbelief.

Running towards them was the source of the noise. Steiner, and he seemed upset to say the least.

He immediately ran up to them and wasted no time in ranting, jumping up and down as he did so. "Princess! Thank goodness I found you! I thought you had been taken or worse!"

Before Dagger could explain, the knight turned his attention to the thief. "What made you bring the Princess out here! How dare you?"

Zidane didn't need to say anything.

Hands on her hips, Dagger shouted "Aldebert Steiner!"

The knight immediately stopped bouncing, "Princess?".

"I came out here because I was worried about Zidane. The fault is mine," she told him.

That put a smile on Zidane's face, 'so she WAS worried about me! Now we're getting somewhere!'

Dagger told Steiner to head back to the Inn, which he did, but not before issuing a warning to Zidane about 'handling' the Princess.

Zidane paid no heed to that, he would never stoop to that level. Unless it was by accident.

"Well, shall we go back?" Dagger asked Zidane.

"Ladies first," he replied happily.


End file.
